A week later at the Ahmedabad crash site: Unfinished lunch plates, engine still buried under water tank, grieving kin

Indian Express

8 hours ago

Plates of half-eaten meals still kept on tables; putrid smell of aviation fuel mixed with debris, including the aircraft's waste tank, hanging in the air; the plane's engine buried under water tank; and families of the victims gazing at the scrap, in the hope of getting a sense of closure: This was the scene at the premises of Atulyam, the hostel of the B J Medical College, where an Air India plane, carrying 241 passengers, crashed exactly a week ago.
While the continuous rain for the last two days seems to have added to the stench, that has done little to deter the family members of the victims who want to take a closer look at the debris.
On Thursday, at least seven such families, including one from the United Kingdom, were present on the premises to pray for the departed souls. A few of the families are still awaiting DNA reports that would allow them to cremate the mortal remains of their loved ones.
'I have lost my mother in the crash and have still not been able to identify her mortal remains,' a woman who had arrived from London told The Indian Express after returning from the crash site.
While the area has seen many curious onlookers, only the family members are being allowed to venture till the debris on the ground.
Initially, on Thursday morning, the police deployed outside the cordoned-off crash site did not allow a few families to enter the compound. But later, permission was given on one condition: No pictures to be taken of the site.
A team of 40 daily wage labourers, under the supervision of 10 engineers and an equal number of staff from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) central zone, was seen rummaging through the crash site.
'The staff working on the site have been provided with safety gear of industrial standards as the debris has very fine and sharp particles,' one of the officials handling the search operation told The Indian Express.
A team of nearly 10 investigators from different international agencies was seen working with gas masks and PPE kits on.
Besides decomposed body parts, black carbon fibres, food trolleys, bundles of medicine strips, a wad of half-burnt Rs 500 notes, etc. are being found, workers on the site told this paper.
The search operation is expected to continue for another week.
'Keeping in mind the ongoing investigations, the area has been cordoned off, allowing only family members, and doctors residing in the hostel blocks who want to retrieve their belongings, on the premises,' Safin Hasan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Ahmedabad city, said.
The search staff working on the site has been directed to operate strictly under the supervision of the investigating teams. 'While we have been asked to segregate the debris under categories such as carbon fibre, electrical components, passenger belongings, and metal items, many objects have been left as they are till the teams concerned reach or ask us to move them,' one of the staff members shared with The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the aircraft's right engine still remains buried under the water tank on the roof of the hostel mess even as the rear part was removed last week.
Officials associated with the search operations said that the aircraft crashed into the RCC water tank, of nearly 5000 litre or 5 tonne capacity, with such a force that the latter moved by over 20 feet.
'Since the investigations of the engines will be undertaken by GE (the company), instructions are being awaited from them on when to recover it from under the water tank,' an official told this paper.
As per Air India's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson's statement on Thursday, 'The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023 and the next scheduled for December 2025. Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight.'